Packaging machine



5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 20, 1970 A. c. MQONAGHAN PACKAGING MACHINEOriginal Filed June 6, I961 E IN VEN TOR. ALFRED C. MONAG HAN ATTORN EYSJan. 20, 1970 A. c. MONAGHAN 3,490,194

' PACKAGING MACHINE Original Filed June '6, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 so 6214 2s FIGZ) INVEN TOR.

BY ALFRED C. MONAGHAN ATTORN EYS Jan. 20, 1970 A. c. MONAGHAN 3,490,194

PACKAGING MACHINE Original Filed June 6, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG? FIG.8

INVENTOR.

ALFRED C. MONAGHAN BY ATTORNEYS Jan. 20, 1970 A, c. MONAGHAN 3,490,194

PACKAGING MACHINE Original Filed June 6, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 rmFear/m4 m4 lillll.

U i 6/ 54/ to Bake 122.

I l I I u g INVENTOR.

H69 d/fgcgo C. Monayhan A rZ/wr 4. Marc/2 Ame/var United States Patent3,490,194 PACKAGING MACHmE Alfred C. Monaghan, Plainfield, N.J.,assignor to Serv- All Machinery Corp., Brooklyn, N.Y., a corporation ofNew Jersey Continuation of application Ser. No. 115,123, June 6, 1961.This application Aug. 9, 1965, Ser. No. 482,989

Int. Cl. B65d 81/00 US. C]. 5328 13 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREPackaging machine and method for automatically wrapping articles in afilm of material of the type which is fusable under pressure in thepresence of heat. The sheet of film material is stretched under tensionbetween two sources of supply of the material in the path of the articleto be wrapped. The film is releasable from both supply sources upon thetension thereof being overcome by moving the article into engagementwith the film and continuing to move the article and the film in thesame directions for a distance greater than the length of the articlewhereby the film becomes folded about the leading edge of the articleand along opposite faces thereof. At this stage each sealing of fusingunit including a presser device shaped to the contour of the sides andfollowing end of the article is moved to place the side margins and aportion of the film at the following end of the article in contact underpressure for application of heat thereto to fuse the film therebyenclosing the article therein. The film is then severed throughout itswidth in the fused area at the following end of the article whereby thewrapped article is released as a free unitary structure and the film byvirtue of its fusing in the area of its severance remains extending as acontinuous sheet between the supply sources ready for engagement by asucceeding article for a repetition of the wrapping operation.

This application is a continuation of application, Ser. No. 115,123,filed on June 6, 1961, now abandoned.

The present invention relates to packaging machines, and moreparticularly to a machine for, and the method of, automatically wrappingarticles in a film of material of the type which is fusible underpressure in the presence of heat. Machines of this character comprise avery crowded and complex art and fall into many categories, since theirdevelopment has resulted from attempts to keep pace with the rapid anddiversified requirements of the modern packaging of a multitude ofdifferent products. As is well known, such products take various formsand present a variety of problems dealing with such things as difiicultyin handling, perishability in storage, peculiar characteristics as topackaging requirements in the field of marketing, and many others. Also,rapid advances have been made in recent years in the development ofpackaging materials with regard to their physical and chemicalcompositions and in their functional characteristics. Furthermore,advances have been made in the category which concerns itself withpackaging techniques to best accomplish the wrapping or packaging of anarticle in a new, or simplified, or better manner than heretofore.

The present invention falls in the latter category and has as itsobjective the provision of a novel means and method for automaticallywrapping articles in a film of the so-called thermo-plastic type ofmaterials which are transparent, fusible by the application thereto ofheat and pressure and, in some instances, shrinkable in the presence ofheat whereby the film may be caused to conform snugly to the contour ofthe article around which it has been previously wrapped.

This is a continuation of my co-pending application S.N. 115,123, filedJune 6, 1961. In its broader aspects, the present invention relates to ameans and method as set forth in my co-pending application Ser. No.50,532, filed Aug. 18, 1960, now Patent No. 3,158,973 of which theaforesaid application S.N. 115,123 was a continuation-in-part, for thewrapping of an article in a film of material of the type which isfusible under pressure in the presence of heat. In accordance with thedisclosure in my said co-pending application, the article to be wrappedis utilized by the movement thereof to engage a sheet of the wrappingmaterial and measure off the necessary length of material required towrap it, whereby the loose edges of the material along the sides of thearticle and an area thereof following the article are in position to bebrought into contact under the application of pressure and heat to fusethe material and thus envelop the article, and the material is thensevered in the fused area following the wrapped article to release thelatter as a sealwrapper unit.

More specifically, the invention relates to a machine wherein a sheet offilm material of the character referred to is stretched under tensionbetween two sources of supply of the material and in the path of thearticle to be wrapped. The film is releasable from both supply sourcesupon the tension thereof being overcome and this is accomplished bymoving the article into engagement with the film, which is wider thanthe article, and continuing to move the article and the film in the samedirection for a distance greater than the length of the article, wherebythe film becomes folded around the leading edge of the article and alongopposite faces thereof. At this stage a heat sealing or fusing unitincluding a presser bar, shaped to the contour of the sides andfollowing end of the article, is moved to place the side margins and aportion of the film at the following end of the article in contact underpressure and apply heat thereto to fuse the film, thus enclosing andsealing the article therein. The film is then severed throughout itswidth in the fused area at the following end of the article, whereby thewrapped article is released as a free unitary structure and the film, byvirtue of its fusing in the area of severance, remains extending as acontinuous sheet between the supply sources ready for engagement by asucceeding article for a repetition of the wrapping operation. When heatshrinkable material is employed, the wrapped article can be momentarilysubjected to heat suflicient to cause it to shrink into snug contactwith the article to form a smooth, neat covering therefor, the shrinkingheat having an effect on the fused portions of the film whereby theycontract into an almost inconspicuous bead.

The present invention contemplates improvements in the construction andoperation of the machine disclosed in my said copending applicationincluding an automatic feed of articles to be wrapped, means controlledby the movement of the article to be Wrapped into engagement with thewrapping film to effect the feeding of the film as said article advancesto the wrapping station, and means to control the timed operation of theautomatic feed of articles to be wrapped. The present invention also contemplates a new and improved method and means for wrapping to insure aproper and complete wrapping, functioning in two stages of operation,the first stage of which can be used independently to provide a sleeveor bond wrap and an additional feature of providing an excess ofwrapping material at the sides of the article which can then be sealed,severed and automatically disposed of when a side seal is required.

Other objects, and features of the present invention will appear and beclear to those skilled in the art from the detailed description, withreference to the drawings, which follows.

In the accompanying drawings, the invention has been shown merely by Wayof example and in preferred form and obviously many variations andmodifications thereof may be made which will still be comprised with itsspirit. It is to be understood, therefore, that the invention is notlimited to any specific form or embodiment, except insofar as suchlimitations are set forth in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a view diagrammatically showing the machine in side elevation;

FIG. 2 is a view diagrammatically showing the feed and wrappingmechanisms in position to commence operation;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, showing the article to be Wrappedadvanced into engagement with the wrapping film;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIGS. 2 and 3, showing the article in thefirst wrapping position;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4, showing the relation of the partswhen sealing and severing the wrapping film;

FIG. 6 is a vertical transverse View, taken on the line 66 of FIG. 5,showing the side sealing and severance of the wrapping film with thearticle in the second wrapping position;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the right-hand portion of the structureshown in FIG. 6, including means for removing excess wrapping materialafter the side seal has been effected;

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 7, showing a modification of themechanism for removing the excess wrapping material; and

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of the circuit for operating the machineof FIG. 1.

In the drawings, the major elements only of the machine with which thepresent invention is concerned have been shown diagrammatically, and forthe sake of clarity, the description will be confined to those portionsof the machine which have to do with its general construction andoperation and with the novel features resulting from the concept of thepresent invention. The machine will be referred to in general terms forthe purpose of orientation of its structure and functions as a whole,which will be clear to those skilled in the art.

The machine as shown in FIG. 1 comprises a frame structure 10 whichsupports two main units comprising an article delivery unit 11 and anarticle wrapping unit 12. The delivery unit 11 comprises a hopper 13supported in the frame 10 in a position above an endless conveyor belt14 running on spaced-apart rollers 15 and 16 journaled in the frame 10.Disposed above the belt 14 and mounted in the frame 10 is an idle roller17, which is provided as guide for directing article in the hopper 13toward the delivery end 18 thereof.

The motive power for operating the belt 14 and other power drivenmechanisms of the machine has not been shown herein because it isdisclosed in detail in my said co-pending application Ser. No. 50,532,now Patent No. 3,158,973 to which reference may be had if desired.

Referring to FIGS. 1-5, it will be seen that the hopper 13 hasassociated therewith a vertically adjustable guide finger 20, the lowerend of which may be variably positioned in spaced relation to the toprun 19 of the belt 14 and set at a distance slightly greater than thethickness of an article 21 to be Wrapped, so that the latter can becarried thereunder b the movement of the belt 14 in the direction of thearrow as the finger acts as an abutment to restrain the movement of thenext and succeeding articles stacked one upon the other in the hopper13. A lever arm 22, formed with an upstanding nose 23 at the forward endthereof, is pivoted at its opposite end, as at 24, to the frame 10 or toa bracket (not shown) secured therto. Approximately midway of its lengththe arm 22 is pivotally fixed to a piston rod 25 extending upwardly froman air cylinder 26 also mounted in the frame 10 and connected to asupply of compressed air. A compression spring 27 is arranged between afixed bracket 28 in the frame It and the undersurface of the arm 22 toexert its expansion force against the arm 22 and normally maintain thearm in a raised position with the nose 23 thereof extending above theplane of the upper run 19 of the belt 14.

The article 21 is adapted to be moved by the belt 14 from the hopper 13into the wrapping and sealing unit 12, the relation of the parts beingsuch that the belt 14 will carry the article 21 a sufiicient distance tobring it into engagement with the upper run 30 of an endless conveyorbelt 31 running in the direction of the arrow on power driven rollers 32and 33. The conveyor belt 31 carries the article forward and brings itto rest in the first wrapping and sealing position within the wrappingunit 12 (see FIG. 4). In its final movement into first position, theforward end of the article 21 moves beneath an electric eye control 35.The eye control 35 effects the operation of an air cylinder 36 mountedin a bracket 37 secured in the frame 10 and having a downwardlyextending piston rod 38 pivotally connected as at 39 to a sub-frame 40.The sub-frame 40 carries a presser bar 41 yieldably mounted in a fixedbase 42 secured to the front end of the sub-frame. The operation of theair cylinder 36 moves the sub-frame 40, together with the pressure bar41, downwardly into engagement with a fixed platen 43 mounted with itsupper surface substantially in the horizontal plane of the upper run 30of the conveyor belt 31. It is pointed out that the presser 41 may beheated to effect the sealing of the film and have associated therewith aknife blade for severing the film but, preferably, a heated element isemployed for this purpose since it will simultaneously effect aseverance and seal of the film without exerting a drag or pull, as ispossible in the case of a knife blade, which tends to move theoverlapping films relative to one another.

Two rolls of wrapping film 45 and 46 located, respectively, above andbelow the horizontal plane of the wrapping unit 12 are each mounted oncores journaled in end brackets 47 secured to the frame 10. The rolls 45and 46 are controlled by clutch and brake mechanisms (not shown)operable to permit or prevent their free rotation in timed relation tothe feeding of the article 21 into the first wrapping position of thewrapping unit 12. In setting up the machine for initial operation withnew rolls 45 and 46 of the film 48, the film is unrolled from each ofthe rolls 45 and 46 and the separate sheets of film are threaded over anupper and lower series of guide and tension rollers 49, then betweenpower driven rollers 50 (one of which may be an idling roller inperipheral contact with the other which is power driven), thence over adancer or tension roller 51 which is mounted for limited horizontalmovement, and finally over a fixed guide roller 52. Initially, the freeedges of the two films 48 are brought together in superposed relationand threaded between the rollers 52 and over the platen 43, whereuponthe presser bar 41 with its heated wire is caused to sever the film andseal the two severed ends of the film together. When the presser bar 41is thereafter released, the dancer rollers 51, which have been tensionedby the threading of the film 48 through the rollers 52, relax and in sodoing return the joined sheets of film to a position in front of therollers 52 so that a continuous sheet of film is presented to extendvertically across the horizontal path of transfer of an article 21 fromthe belt 14 to the belt 31 (see FIG. 2). In this condition, the machineis prepared for operation and once it has been started by the closing ofa main switch supplying electric current to a motor which drives theconveyor belts 14, 31 and other driven mechanisms of the machine, theoperation proceeds automatically thereafter to wra a succession ofarticles 21.

Coming now to the second position in the wrapping and sealing unit 12,the article 21 is moved by the belt 31 onto another belt 60 in linetherewith and driven over rollers 61 and 62, its upper run 63 lying inthe same horizontal plane as the upper run 30 of the belt 31. At thetime that the second or following article 21 has reached the firstposition in the unit 12, passing beneath the electric eye 35 and comingto rest, the preceding and partially wrapped article 21 will have beentransferred to the belt 60 and come to rest thereon in the secondposition in the unit 12. Belt 60 will run until the package blocks thesecond eye or switch 70, which stops the belt. During this travel of thesaid preceding article 21, the side edges of the sheets of film 48extending laterally beyond each side of the article are brought togetherin superposed relation and fed between fixed rollers 65 andspring-pressed rollers 66 (FIG. 7), and above a pair of spaced-apartplatens 67 extending one along each side of the belt 60 and in verticalalignment each with one of a pair of overlying presser bars 68, thelatter being formed and supported substantially in the manner of thepreser bar 41 and mounted on the same sub-frame 40 which is actuated bythe air cylinder 36. The platens 67 and presser bars 68 are adjustablelaterally to accommodate articles 21 of different widths and each isequipped with an element adapted to be heated by electricity forsevering and sealing the film 48 along the sides of the article 21, suchaction being carried out simultaneously with the severing and sealingaction of the presser bar 41 at the following end of the succeedingarticle 21 which is then in the first position.

It is pointed out that simultaneously with the movement of thesucceeding article 21 beneath the electric eye 35 to stop the belt 31,the article 21 in the second position moves into engagement with aswitch 70 to stop the rotation of the belt 60.

When the severance and sealing of the film 48 along the side edges ofthe first article and the following end of the succeeding article havebeen effected, the sub-frame 40 is raised, separating the presser barsfrom their respective platens and through a suitable switch arrangementrestarting the belt driving mechanism to move the article 21 forwardagain. At the same time the belt 60 is again set in motion and therollers 65 and 66 whose rotation was not interrupted propel the severadedges 48a of the film 48 sidewise and discharge them to slide downrespective inclined chutes 71 (one only being shown) and throughopenings 72 in the wall of a casing 73 enclosing the framework andoperating parts of the wrapping unit 12, whence they are collected in ascrap material receiving receptacle. Thus at position 2 in the wrappingunit 12, the article 21 has been completely enclosed and hermeticallysealed at all four sides thereof in a relatively loose fitting wrappingof the film 48.

A modification of the mechanism for removing the scrap material severedfrom along the side edges of the article 21 is shown in FIG. 8. Insteadof the rollers 65 and 66 rotating in a direction at right angles to thedirection of travel of the belt 60, the edges of the film 48 travelbetween a pair of endless belts 74 running continuously one on an upperand one on a lower set of rollers 75, the rollers of each set beingarranged in series to extend in the same linear direction as the upperrun 63 of the belt 61; and when the film 48 has been sealed and severedalong the side edges of the article 21, the severed film edges 48a arecarried to the rear of the machine and disposed of there.

It should be pointed out that the extent of movement of the sub-frame 40carrying the presser bars 41 and 68 is sufiicient to accommodatearticles 21 ranging in thickness from that of a thin, fiat object suchas a phonograph disc or record to one of several inches. Actually thethick ness, length and width of articles which can be wrapped by themachine of the present invention vary considerably and in differentexisting models the dimensions of the articles may vary from 3 wide and6" long in the smallest model to 20" wide and 60" long in the largestmodel.

The thickness may vary in accordance with the article to be wrapped andthe maximum thickness which a particular machine can accommodate is, ofcourse, determinable in advance according to the extent to which thepresser bars 41 and 68 are raised above their respective platens 42 and67.

The machine is adapted to handle such items as packaged foods (frozen orunfrozen), games, stationery, household items, folded linens andtextiles, phonograph records, clothing, newspapers, books, etc., and inthe different models, variances in the thickness of articles to bewrapped are, as already stated, automatically taken care of by theclearance between the presser bars and plants, i.e., the extent oftravel of the sub-frame 40. Variances in the width of an article to bewrapped are taken care of by virtue of the fact that the side sealingpresser bars 68, platens 67, scrap disposal rollers 65 and 66 (75 inFIG. 8) are mounted on shafts (FIG. 1) having reverse screw threadsrunning in opposite direction from mid-length thereof to move thoseelements toward and away from one another. It is unnecessary that theconveyor belt 60 be adjustable since it is located to provide adequatenontilting support for the article 21, which is afforded additionalsupport by the scrap material disposal rollers in gripping the sideedges 48a of the film 48 as shown in FIG. 6.

As shown in FIG. 7, the scrap disposal rollers '65 and 66 are operatedby an independent electric motor 81 through reduction gearing and asprocket wheel 84 mounted on a drive shaft 85 from which the roller 65is rotated through a belt connection 86 running over a pulley 87. Theshaft 85 mounting the sprocket wheel 84 and a pulley 87 are mounted in abracket 88 connected with the platen 67, and throughout a limited butsuflicient extent the chain 83 will rock about its vertical axis tofollow the lateral movements of the shaft 85.

The relation of the parts as shown in FIG. 1 indicates that the machinehas been adjusted to bring the guide rollers 52 and the dancer rollers51 into close proximity for handling a thin article such as a phonographrecord, not shown. In the remaining figures, however, the rollers 52have been adjusted to a greater spaced relationship so as to handle athicker article 21 and the retaining finger 20 accordingly has beenadjusted upwardly. The operation of the machine will be described inconjunction with the showing in FIGS. 2-8.

Although only one article is shown therein, assume that a stack ofarticles 21 is placed in the hopper 13 with the lowermost articleresting on the upper run 19 of the belt 14. When the machine is startedinitially by manually firing a switch (FIG. 1) another switch 96 is inclosed condition to inaugurate the operation of the conveyor belts 31and 60, and at the same time, actuate the air cylinder 26 to pull thestop arm 22 downward against the action of the compression spring 27 andrelease the lowermost article 21 for transport toward the film 48extending across the space between the rollers 52. A switch 104 isactuated by the leading end of article 21 to deactivate air cylinder 26,allowing arm 22 to be raised by compression spring 27 so that its nose23 rides along the bottom surface of article 21. Upon continuedtransport of the article 21, the following end thereof rides off thenose 23 and allows the spring 27 to raise, the arm 22 to present thenose 23 thereof in the path of a successive article 21 (FIG. 4) andrestrain it from further movement. When the front or leading end of thearticle 21 has been moved into engagement with the film 48 as shown inFIG. 3, but its following end has not yet cleared the nose of the stoparm 22, the pressure of the front end of the article 21 against the film48 exerts a tension thereon which is transmitted to the dancer rollers51. The rollers 51 are mounted to slide in horizontally disposed slots101 formed in brackets 102 mounted in the frame 10, against the pull oflight tension springs 10 3. As the rollers 51 approach their forwardposition as shown in FIG. 3, the

lower one of the rollers 51 opens the switch 96 releasing brakes onrolls 45 and 46 of film 48 and commencing the drive of the film feedrollers 50.

As the article in transit arrives at the first position in the wrappingunit 12 as shown in FIG. 4, either the article 21 itself or indicia onthe film 48, as the case may be, moves into the path of the electric eye35, which effects the application of a clutch brake to stop the movementof the belts 14, 31 and 60 and to activate the air cylinder 36. The aircylinder 36 then operates to move the sub-frame 40 downward to bring thepresser bar 41 into position to clamp the superposed sheets of film 48between it and the platen 43 (see FIG. at which time the heated elementsimultaneously severs the film 48 and seals the film along the line ofseverance. Thereafter, when the sub-frame and presser bar 41 are raisedby the air cylinder 36, the sub-frame 40 activates a switch 105 whichresets the electric cycle, activating the air cylinder 26 and startedthe rotation of the belts 31 and 60. The portions of film 48 which havebeen pulled along the top and bottom sides of the article 21 have atthis time been scaled together at the following: end of the article, andthe films 48 running from the two rolls 45 and 46 have been sealedtogether to maintain them as a continuous sheet of film extending acrossthe space between the guide rollers 52. When the film 48 is released bythe presser bar 41, the springs 103 return the dancer rolls 51 to theposition shown in FIG. 2, which movement straightens the film 48 to forma vertical curtain thereof between the guide rollers 52 as shown in thatfigure.

The return of the lower dancer roller 51 to the rearward position shownin FIG. 2 moves it out of contact with the switch 96 braking powerdriven film feeding rollers and the operation is repeated. This time,however, as the succeeding article is moved into the first position inthe wrapping unit 12 the preceding article 21 is transferred by the belt31 to the belt and into the second position, the unsealed side edges ofthe film 48 drawn between the scrap material disposal rollers and 66.Upon the descent of the sub-frame 40, the presser bar 41 and the pair ofside presser bars 68 are brought into engagement with their respectiveplatens 43 and 67, and the heated elements associated therewith severand seal the film 48 at the following end of the article 21 in the firstposition and at the same time sever and seal the film 48 along the sidesof the article 21, the scrap material 48a being removed and disposed ofwhen the pressure between the platens 67 and presser bars 68 isrelieved. Continued operation of the machine transports the article 21from the second position to discharge it from the belt 60 at theright-hand end thereof (as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5), the succeedingarticle 21 is moved to the second position, and the next succeedingarticle 21 is moved into the first position in the wrapping and sealingunit 12. When discharged from the belt 60, the article 21 is looselywrapped in the film 48 although hermetically sealed therein along itsfront, rear and side edges. Subsequently, if the film is heat shrinkablethe wrapped article 21 is transported through a heating tunnel, notshown, wherein the film is shrunk into intimate contact with thearticle.

It was stated earlier herein that the film 48 is wider than the article21, whereby it overhangs and is sealable along the sides of the article.It is pointed out that the side presser bars 68 are readily removable sothat a film 48 of a width narrower than that required for completeoverwrapping of an article 21 may be employed and severed and sealed bythe presser bar 41 and its heated element to effect a banding wrap ortie of the article. This might be desirable for use on newspaper,bundles or stacks of articles, and the like, or for tying together aplurality of articles 21 previously wrapped as described heretofore. Itis also contemplated that the presser bars 41 and 68 may be hingedlysecured to the sub-frame 40 to be selectively swung into and out ofoperative position for cooperation with their respective platens 42 and67, suitable means being provided for each presser bar to hold it in itsoperative or inoperative position. Thus one machine may be employedselectively for hermetic seal packaging or for banding, as desired.

Insofar as the electrical operation of the machine and the timingfeatures thereof are concerned, the use of electrical components such asvoltage transformers, relays, and circuitry, including timing and safetyswitches, are all within the knowledge of the skilled electrician. Inorder to clarify the operation of the machine reference will be made tothe schematic circuit of FIG. 9.

To start the machine a circuit breaker 1'06 is closed. This suppliespower to the drive motor 107 and makes power available to the rest ofthe circuit. In order to begin the first cycle of operation, a pushbutton 108 is closed momentarily to complete a circuit through a relaycoil 109 and the switch 104. The relay has contacts 109a connected inseries with its coil 109 and in parallel with the switch 108 to beclosed when the coil is energized. As a result the coil will remainenergized even after pressure on the push button 108 is released.

A solenoid valve 111 to control the package release cylinder 26 isconnected in parallel with the coil 109 to he energized as long as thecoil is energized. As the first package is released and passes theswitch 104, it opens the switch and breaks the circuit to both the coil109 and the solenoid valve 111, which actuates the cylinder 26 as that asecond package cannot get through until the first package has moved tothe proper location.

At this time all three of the belts 14, 31 and 60 are running, and asthe package reaches the electric eye 35 and breaks the light beam, aswitch 35a controlled thereby is closed. Of course the electric eye andthe switch could be replaced by an impulse switch of the same type asthe switch 104, for example. The closing of the switch 35a suppliescurrent to a relay coil 112 which closes the contacts 112:: of the relayand short circuits the switch 35a to hold the relay closed. The relay112 also has a second arm 11212 which moves between contacts 112C and112d. The contact 112a is connected to the drive clutch 117 on the belt31 while the contact 112d is connected to the brake 118 on the belt 31,and when the relay 112 is energized, the arm 112b is moved from thedrive clutch contact 112v to the brake contact 112d, thereby halting thebelt 31. The drive clutch 117 and the brake 118 are both operated byrectified current from a rectifier 119.

At the same time that the coil 112 is energized, a timer coil 113 and asolenoidf valve 114 controlling the platen cylinder are also energized.Actuation of the solenoid valve 114 causes air to be applied to thecylinder 36 to bring down the sealing platen. At a predetermined timeafter the timer 113 has been energized, its contacts 113a open,releasing the solenoid valve 114 and retracting the platen cylinder.

As the platen is released to rise up, it actuates the switch 105, whichis a momentary impulse switch, and releases the relay 112. The belt 31restarts and, since the movement of the arm of the switch to itsopposite contact closes the circuits to the relay 109 and the solenoidvalve 111, this is the equivalent of actuating the push button 108 andstarts a new package on its way by causing the cylinder 26 to retract.

As the new package enters, the first package moves on to the belt 60 andis carried along until it contacts the switch 70, which may be animpulse switch or an electric eye and which is connected in series witha relay coil 116. The relay 116 has contacts 116a that close when therelay is energized so as to short circuit the switch 70 and hold therelay closed after the switch 70 opens up. It will be realized that atthis time the arm of the switch 105 has returned to the position shownin FIG. 9. The relay 116 also has another arm 11Gb which moves betweencontacts 1160 and 116:]. Contact 1160 is connected to the 9 drive clutch121 for the belt 60 and contact 116d is connected to the brake 122 forthe belt 60. As a result when the relay 116 is energized, the and 116i)moves from the the drive clutch contact 116c to the brake contact 116dand stops the belt 60.

The first package waits in the position to which the belt 60 has broughtit until the following package passes the electric eye 35 and initiatesa new sealing cycle. After the second package has been scaled, it movespast the switch 105 and operates it, which results in removing thecircuit that supplies current to the relay 116. The relay 116 thereuponopens and the arm 11Gb moves back to the drive clutch contact 1160,thereby restarting the belt 60.

After this the operation of the machine continues on an automatic basis,and packages are moved and film is fed as required. The film feed switch96 is a demand switch. When it is in the position shown in FIG. 9, whichis the deactivated position, the film brake 123 is applied and when itis in the other position, the film feed clutch 124 is engaged so thefilm is fed into the sealing area of the machine. This circuit iscompletely independent of the rest of the circuitry.

As already stated, the invention has been shown only in preferred formand by way of example and, therefore, the appended claims are not to beconstrued as containing limitations which are not expressly set forththerein.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A machine for wrapping an article in a film of wrapping materialwhich is laced under tension and fed along with the article as thelatter is delivered to a wrapping position in the machine, comprisingthe combination of supply means for supplying a quantity of saidwrapping material, said supply means having support means for a pair ofrolls of said film, one of said rolls being positioned on each side ofthe feed path of said article; and sealing and severing means sealingand severing said film at the following end of said article, said supplymeans including means for extending said film across the feed path ofsaid article after said film has been scaled and severed at thefollowing end of said article, restraining means coacting with saidsupply means to prevent the film from being withdrawn from said supplymeans, means for feeding said film from said supply means into thewrapping position in the machine, and control means including switchmeans actuatable upon the tensioning movement of the film to releasesaid restraining means restraining said rolls of film, said controlmeans arranged in cooperative relation to said film and responsive tothe tensioning movement of the film to also effect the operation of saidfeeding means.

2. A machine for wrapping an article in a film of wrapping materialwhich is placed under tension and fed along with the article as thelatter is delivered to a wrapping position in the machine, comprisingthe combination of supply means for supplying a quantity of saidwrapping material, said supply means having support means for a pair ofrolls of said film, one of said rolls being positioned on each side ofthe feed path of said article; and sealing and severing means sealingand severing said film at the following end of said article, said supplymeans including means for extending said film across the feed path ofsaid article after said film has been scaled and severed at thefollowing end of said article, restraining means on each side of saidfeed path coacting with said supply means to prevent the film from beingwithdrawn from said supply means, means for feeding said film from saidsupply means into the wrapping position in the machine, and meansactuated to release said restraining means to permit the withdrawal ofthe film from said supply means and control means arranged incooperative relation to said film to release said restraining means andpermit withdrawal of the film from said supply means and to effect theoperation of said feeding means.

3. A machine for automatically wrapping an article in a film of wrappingmaterial, comprising means supplying the film in continuous sheet formacross the path of movement of the article into the machine so as to beengaged by the leading end of the article and carried therewith in thetransport of the article into the machine, a movable feed conveyor and atwo stage wrapping station, said feed conveyor transporting the articleand the film engaged thereby to an article to the first stage of saidwrapping station, feeding means operable to feed the film in timedrelation to the transport speed of the article, and means arranged inthe path of movement of the article and operable thereby to stop thearticle in said wrapping station and wherein the means for stopping thearticle in said wrapping position comprises an electrical sensing devicearranged to be sensitized by indicia formed on the film.

4. A machine for automatically wrapping an article in a film of wrappingmaterial, comprising means supplying the film in continuous sheet formacross the path of movement of the article into the machine so as to beengaged by the leading end of the article and carried therewith in thetransport of the article into the machine, a movable feed conveyor and atwo stage wrapping station, said feed conveyor transporting the articleand the film engaged thereby to an article to the first stage of saidwrapping station, feeding means operable to feed the film in timedrelation to the transport speed of the article, and means arranged inthe path of movement of the article and operable thereby to stop thearticle in said wrapping station and wherein the sheet of film is widerthan the article to an extent of more than twice the thickness of thearticle and is adapted to be overlaid and sealed to itself on oppositesides of the article along a line spaced inward from the free edge ofthe film, the edge portion of the film outward from the seal line beingsevered from the sealed film, and including means for removing saidsevered portion from the machine and wherein said film removing meanscomprises a moving belt mechanism with which the edge portion of thefilm enters into engagement as the article and film are transported intosaid second wrapping position.

5. A machine for automatically wrapping an article in a film of wrappingmaterial, comprising means supplying the film in continuous sheet formacross the path of movement of the article into the machine so as to beengaged by the leading end of the article and carried therewith in thetransport of the article into the machine, a movable feed conveyor and atwo stage wrapping station, said feed conveyor transporting the articleand the film engaged thereby to an article to the first stage of saidwrapping station, feeding means operable to feed the film in timedrelation to the transport speed of the article, and means arranged inthe path of movement of the article and operable thereby to stop thearticle in said wrapping station and wherein the sheet of film is widerthan the article to an extent sufiicient to be overlaid and sealed toitself along opposite sides of the article, and including means forsealing the film to itself along the sides of the articles and includingmeans movably mounting said side sealing means, and means for movingsaid mounting means laterally outward and inward for cooperation of thesealing means with articles of different widths.

6. The method of wrapping an article in a film of material of the typewhich is fusible under pressure in the presence of heat, which methodcomprises providing a sheet of said material which is wider than thearticle to an extent greater than the thickness of the article to extendunder tension between two sources of supply thereof from which the filmis released as required, moving an article into engagement with the filmat a point between the supply sources and in position whereby the filmextends beyond the side edges of the article, continuing to move thearticle and the film for a distance greater than the length of thearticle and into a first wrapping position, smoothing the film againstopposite faces of the article, bringing the film extending beyond thefollowing ends of said opposite faces together in superimposed relationto one another, applying heat and pressure to the superimposed film tofuse it, cutting the film through and entirely across in the fused areathereof to release the partially wrapped article from the supply of filmand to leave the film from the two sources of supply joined in sheetform, moving the partially Wrapped article to a second wrappingposition, bringing the portions of film extending beyond the side edgesof the article together in superimposed relation, applying heat andpressure to the superimposed film at the side edges of the article tofuse the film throughout substantially the length thereof and inwardfrom each edge of the film, cutting the film to trim away an excess atthe side edges thereof, and removing the severed edge portions of thefilm as scrap.

7. The method set forth in claim 6 wherein the film employed is alsoshrinkable in the presence of heat, and including as a final stepsubjecting the wrapped article as a whole to an application of heatsuflicient to shrink the film into intimate contact with the article bydirecting heat of greatest intensity onto two opposite surfaces only ofthe film covered article while at the same time permitting heat tocirculate across the remaining surfaces of the film covered article.

8. The method set forth in claim 6, carried out successively on a seriesof articles with the film sealing and cutting operations on an articlein the first wrapping position and an article in the second wrappingposition being performed simultaneously.

9. A machine for wrapping an article in a film of wrapping materialcomprising:

(a) a feeding station including a feed conveyor;

(b) a wrapping station spaced from said feeding station;

(c) means for supplying a continuous web of said material interposedbetween said feeding station and wrapping station in the path of thearticle being transported from the former to the latter, whereby themovement of the article by said feed conveyor exerts a tension on saidweb;

(d) means actuated by the tension imparted to said web to effect feedingof the material from said supply means as said article moves to thewrapping station;

(e) stop means operatively associated with said feed conveyor torestrain the movement of an article to be transported by said conveyor;

(f) an'actuating means connected to said stop means I to effect movementof said stop means between operative to inoperative position;

(g) means rendering said actuating means operative to effect release ofthe article restrained thereby, and

(h) means responsive to the released article to deactivate saidactuating means to render said stop means operative to restrain the nextsucceeding article.

10. The invention as defined in claim 9 wherein said wrapping stationincludes:

(a) a first and second stage;

(h) each of said stages including an article conveyor;

(c) means operatively associated with each of said stages for severingand sealing the ends of said severed sheet of film material;

(d) said film material being severed and sealed adjacent the followingend of the article at the first stage, and sealed along the opposedsides of the article in second stage.

11. A machine for wrapping an article in a film of wrapping materialcomprising:

(a) a feeding station; and

(b) a wrapping station including a first stage and a second stage;

(c) said wrapping station and said feeding station being spaced apartand adapted to have disposed therebetween a continuous web of saidmaterial;

(d) said feeding station including a feed conveyor for receiving saidfeeding an article to be wrapped to the first stage of said wrappingstation;

(e) means for controlling the feed of the articles to be wrapped inseriatim from the feed conveyor to the wrapping station, whereby the webdisposed across the path of movement of the article to the wrappingstation is engaged by the leading end thereof and carried therewith tothe first stage of said wrapping station so that the material enwrapsthe top and bottom of the article;

(f) means for severing and sealing the severed ends of the materialadjacent the following end of said article in the first stage;

(g) means for sequentially advancing said article from said first stageto said second stage as another article is fed from the feeding stationto said first stage;

(h) means for severing and sealing the material along the opposed sideedges of the article at the second stage;

(i) means for removing the severed scrap of said material from saidsecond stage;

(i) and means for extending said film across the feed path of saidarticle after said film has been sealed and severed at the following endof said article.

12. A machine for wrapping an article in a sheet of fusible filmwrapping material comprising:

(a) a feeding station including a feed conveyor;

(b) a wrapping station including a first stage conveyor and a secondstage conveyor;

(c) means for supplying a continuous web of said material interposedbetween said feed conveyor and first stage conveyor whereby said web isdisposed substantially normal to the path of the article beingtransported from said feeding conveyor to said first stage conveyor;

( d) means for braking said supply means;

(e) a stop means operatively associated with said feed conveyor torestrain the movement of an article;

(f) an actuating means connected to said stop means to effect movementof said stop means between operative and inoperative position;

(g) control means for rendering said actuating means operative to effectrelease of the article restrained thereby;

(h) means responsive to the movement of said released article todeactivate said actuating means to render said stop operative torestrain the next succeeding article;

(i) said article engaging said web of material with its leading end toexert a tension thereon;

(1) means responsive to the tension imparted to said web to effectrelease of said means braking said supplyhmeans as said article carriessaid web along therewr (k) means for stopping said conveyors when saidarticle reaches a predetermined position in said first stage;

(1) cutting and sealing means operatively associated with said firststage;

(in) said stopping means rendering said cutting and sealmg meansoperative whereby said Web is severed ad acent the following end of saidarticle and sealed thereat, the ends of said web being fused to maintainits continuity;

(n) means activated by said cutting and sealing means after said cuttingand sealing of said web to effect operation of said conveyors wherebysaid article in the first stage is transported to said second stage, andthe succeeding article moved from the feeding station to said firststage;

(0) a second cutting and sealing means operatively associated with saidsecond stage;

(p) said second cutting and sealing means being operated simultaneouslywith said first mentioned cutting means to sever and seal the opposedside edge 2,747,346 5/1956 Tigerman et a1. 5328 of said film enwrapingsaid article; 2,908,219 10/ 1959 Clauss 19834 X (q) and means forremoving the waste. 2,913,863 11/ 1959 Sylvester et a1 53373 13. Thecombination according to claim 2 wherein said 2,931,148 4/ 1960 Smith53-28 control means is responsive to the tensioning movement 5 2,976,6573/1961 Cloud 53-182 X of the film to release said restraining means andto effect 3,024,890 3/ 1962 Belk 19834 the operation of said feedingmeans. 3,067,553 12/ 1962 Rivman et al 53-66 X References Cited THERONF. CONDON, Primary Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 10 N. ABRAMS,Assistant Examiner 347,393 3/1907 Ballard 242-75.43 1,907,760 5/1933Egger 242 75.4 X CL 2,928,217 3/1960 Case et al 53 2s 2,639,567 5/1953Murdoch et a1. 53 40 2, 2

5 2 3 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3194 Dated Jan Inventor g C I It is certified that error appears in theabove-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are herebycorrected as shown below:

Claim 1, line 2, "laced" should read placed Claim 11, paragraph (d\ line2, "said" should read and Claim 12, paragraph (p\ line 4, enwraping"should read enwrapping SEPT. 29,1970

(SEAL) Attest:

Edw 111M. Fletohflt ll'.

a WILLIAM E- BGHUYLER, JIR. testing Offiw' Comissioner of Patents

